Wednesday, September 8, 2010

More on Getting Burned, but not by forest fire

Economists who study sports facilities pretty much agree that publicly funded stadiums are a bad deal for taxpayers. Politicians and team owners disagree, and people are suckers for bullshit, so these things keep getting built.

So, I'm sure my dad will enjoy this article about the fact that New Jersey taxpayers still owe a bunch of money on now torn down Giants Stadium. My friend Art, whose business depends on taxpayer naivete probably won't. Here's a key quote:

With more than four decades of evidence to back them up, economists almost uniformly agree that publicly financed stadiums rarely pay for themselves. The notable successes like Camden Yards in Baltimore often involve dedicated taxes or large infusions of private money. Even then, using one tax to finance a stadium can often steer spending away from other, perhaps worthier, projects.